Category: Sepsis

Sepsis is the Leading Cause of Death in Children

Sepsis is the Leading Cause of Death in Children

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder & Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Pediatric Sepsis is a Common and Deadly Problem

According to the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), pediatric sepsis is a common and deadly public health issue:

Population-based studies of the prevalence of pediatric sepsis estimate 72-89 cases per 100,000 pediatric population in the United States, with over 50,000-75,000 hospitalizations for pediatric sepsis and an associated cost near $5 billion annually. Globally, there are an estimated 22 cases of pediatric severe sepsis per 100,000 person-years and 2,202 cases of neonatal sepsis per 100,000 live births, translating into 1.2 million cases of pediatric and 3 million cases of neonatal sepsis per year. Over 4% of all hospitalized patients younger than 18 years and 8% of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients in the United States have sepsis. Although estimates are challenged by a lack of standardized data collection and inconsistent reporting, these data confirm that sepsis is common in pediatric patients.

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What is COVIDSepsis?

What is COVIDSepsis?

COVIDSepsis Defined

COVIDSepis (noun): COVIDSepsis is a medical condition where the patient presents with the following conditions – coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and fever. Patients with COVIDSepsis may also have an altered mental state, difficulty breathing, reduced urine output, rapid heart rate, a weak pulse, and cold extremities. 

According to the Sepsis Alliance, “severe COVID-19 is viral sepsis.” As a result, distinguishing between whether a patient is suffering from COVID or has sepsis can be very difficult. As researchers in their research published in December of 2021 concluded:

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Global Sepsis Alliance Commends Physician-Patient Alliance Video Featuring Dr. Ken Rothfield

The Global Sepsis Alliance has commended the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) for its invaluable contribution to reducing the unacceptable human suffering from sepsis. The Global Sepsis Awards, which are sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation, honor outstanding efforts to increase sepsis awareness and raise the quality of sepsis prevention and management.

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Sepsis Protocols Need Improving to Prevent Complications of Care

Editor’s Note: This editorial from the desk of PPAHS’s Executive Director encourages sepsis protocols to be revising to prevent complications of care.

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Patients go into hospital expecting to get “fixed” – to have whatever ails them to be treated. This is what we go to doctors for. In fact, this is what we go to any expert for – we go to lawyers to handle our legal problems, accountants to handle our accounting problems, doctors to handle our health problems.

Therefore, to go into hospital and contract another ailment – one unrelated to what we went in for – is concerning. For the patient, it means having to deal with this second ailment, including the related extra time, expense, and pain and suffering that that entails. For the physician, it means that something has been done or not done that has resulted in the patient getting ailment number two.

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Should We Be Watching a Stopwatch or Wanting Better Patient Care? – The Debate over the 1-Hour Sepsis Bundle

Editor’s Note: This editorial from the desk of PPAHS’s Executive Director asks whether the debate over the 1-hour sepsis bundle should focus on improving care and not on making sure certain procedures are done within a 60-minute timeframe.

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

The recent kerfuffle over the 1-Hour Sepsis Bundle has missed the point about the need for better patient care and a much needed effort to save patient lives.

In 2002, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the International Sepsis Forum came together and formed the Surviving Sepsis Campaign aiming to reduce sepsis-related mortality by 25% within 5 years. The goals of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign were to improve the management of sepsis through a 7-point agenda including:

  • Building awareness of sepsis
  • Improving diagnosis
  • Increasing the use of appropriate treatment
  • Educating healthcare professionals
  • Improving post-ICU care
  • Developing guidelines of care
  • Implementing a performance improvement program

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You May Not Get a Second Chance to Save a Patient’s Life

Editor’s note – In this article for the DoctorWeighsIn, Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety) recounts his meeting with Dr. Ken Rothfield that led to the making of the video, “5 Keys to Reducing Sepsis.”

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

According to the CDC, each year in the U.S., more than 1.5 million Americans will develop sepsis and at least 250,000 Americans will die from sepsis. Although these numbers may be staggering, they may not hit home until sepsis strikes a loved one, a friend, or even yourself.

For me, it struck when Dr. Ken Rothfield and I met at a healthcare conference. Dr. Rothfield is Chief Medical Officer at Medical City Dallas, which is operated by the Hospital Corporation of America. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS), a non-profit advocacy group that I founded more than seven years ago, and has been a strong advocate for and partner in patient safety. He told me at the conference, “I almost died from sepsis.”

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Early Detection of Sepsis Through Monitoring Saves Patient Lives

Editor’s Note: In this video interview, Dr. Ken Rothfield urges his fellow clinicians to monitor patients for sepsis. Says Dr. Rothfeld, “patient monitoring can alert you at the earliest possible moment when sepsis is developing.”

Clinical studies have found mortality is significantly reduced if septic patients are identified at early stages of the disease process. Anand Kumar, MD (Critical Care Medicine, Health Sciences Centre/St. Boniface Hospital, University of Manitoba) and his colleagues in “Duration of hypotension before initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy is the critical determinant of survival in human septic shock” found in their research that early detection and treatment of sepsis is akey to reduced morbidity and mortality:

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5 Keys to Reducing Sepsis

Editor’s Note: In this video interview, Dr. Ken Rothfield urges his fellow clinicians about the need for early detection and treatment of sepsis. Says Dr. Rothfeld, “I would like you to commit to to early detection and treatment of sepsis, because you may not get a second chance to save your patient’s life.”

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is pleased to release a video interview with Dr. Ken Rothfield. Dr. Rothfield is Chief Medical Officer at Medical City Dallas, which is operated by the Hospital Corporation of America. Dr. Rothfield is not only a doctor, but he developed sepsis following hernia surgery. So, Dr. Rothfield has the unique perspective of knowing sepsis from the point of view of a doctor and a patient.

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